1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to waler clamp assemblies for temporarily holding concrete wall forms together, and more particularly, to a waler clamp assembly having a waler clamp with a reinforcing leg interconnecting upper and lower plates on the clamp to minimize deflection and twisting of the clamp.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Waler clamp assemblies for holding adjacent panels of a concrete wall form are well known. Generally, in forming concrete walls, the form is characterized by a pair of spaced apart form sides which define the size and shape of the wall and hold the concrete therebetween until it hardens. The form sides consist of a series of rectangular panels positioned edge to edge and attached to, and supported by, a frame. Typically, the panels are plywood, and the frame is made of steel. The waler clamp assemblies are used to temporarily connect to adjacent frames to hold a waler and thereby keep the wall forms aligned during pouring and hardening of the concrete. Some prior waler clamp assemblies are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,964,294; 3,584,827; and 3,655,162.
A simplified variation on some of the earlier waler clamp assemblies shown in these patents is illustrated in FIG. 1 and will be described in more detail herein. This waler clamp assembly uses a two-piece construction including the waler clamp itself and a wedge. The clamp has an upper plate with a hook that engages openings in vertical members of adjacent frames. A lower plate engages the vertical frame members at a location below the openings. The upper and lower plates are integrally formed with an outer end plate interconnecting them. A downwardly extending flange on the lower plate bears against the outer edge of the vertical members to support the clamp assembly.
A waler, generally in the form of a board, such as a 2.times.4 or 4.times.4, is positioned on the upper plate of the clamp and/or between the upper and lower plates thereof A wedge is driven substantially vertically through openings in the upper and lower plates to wedge against the waler to hold it firmly in place. The operation of the clamp assemblies and the walers is to provide a rigid support to keep the frames and panels aligned and straight during the pouring of the concrete between the form sides. This prior art waler clamp has been used for a long time, but it has no inherent support between the upper and lower plates at their inner ends adjacent to the vertical members of the frames. Eventually, in most clamps, after many uses, there is undesired downward deflection or twisting of the lower plate as a result of driving the wedge in place. This results in the waler not being adequately clamped in place which can cause misalignment of the wall form sides.
The waler clamp of the present invention solves this problem by providing the improvement of an inner reinforcing or support leg which interconnects the upper and lower plates at a position adjacent to the vertical members of the form side frames without interfering with the engagement of the hook on the upper panel with the openings in the vertical members. This prevents undesired deformation of the lower plate.